Ragnar - Wasatch Back 2013

Wasatch Back. The hardest Ragnar to get into - as well as one of the hardest Ragnar's that you can run. We long dreamed of being able to run this Ragnar, especially after Vegas last year. Things weren't looking promising though as spots sell out before it's even opened to the general public. This, however, seems to have been our year. Because it was the 10 year anniversary of the first Ragnar ever (Wasastch Back, of course) they almost doubled the number of spots they allow by hosting a Thursday/Friday race as well. We were in as soon as I got the email.

That meant that we had to get together a team, though. We were pretty convinced that we knew enough people that would be willing to participate, and sure enough within a couple weeks we had 10 other people wanting to run with us. However, things change, schedules get in the way, and conflicts arise. There were multiple times of having a full team and scrambling to find someone right up until 2 days before the race - and to all those who can up and run a Ragnar, I am impressed and hope one day to be like you. We were able to do it though and had a full team excited and ready to run! Remind me though how much I didn't like this part next time I think it's a good idea to organize a team. haha.

On Wednesday, June 19th, our van (Van 2 - I don't know why we did that to ourselves again. We vowed after Vegas that we would never be van 2 again. Then, even being in charge, we both chose legs in van 2. I suppose we are glutton for punishment.) loaded up and headed to Logan to stay at one of our van member's Mission President's house. Can I just say - WOW! I have never seem a house and property as incredible as this one was. Everything was beautiful, well kept, and extravagant while still being welcoming and homey. 

We dined that evening at Hu Hut. I'm not even sure how to describe it except it was tasty and an experience I had never had before. We had smores for dessert - see the cute little fireplaces?

Breakfast the next morning was provided in the home we were staying at. We all carb loaded nicely on pancakes, eggs, and bacon. 

The boys even did the dishes for us!

Here is a picture of the entrance to the room Hunter and I stayed in. Incredible, right?

After breakfast it was van decorating time! Nothing better to put you in the Ragnar spirit!

...and the finished project! Well, one side anyway. The other side will make multiple appearances later on in this post. 

Then we loaded up and were on our way to exchange 6 where Brit would begin. Random side note: we actually had to drive all the way back through Ogden to get to our starting point. It might have been easier to just stay at our house the night before, but, then we wouldn't have gotten the amazing Bed and Breakfast experience that we did. I like to think of it as our little mini vacation pre-Ragnar. haha. 

We also all applied our Ragnar tattoos - which ended up leaving tan lines after the fact on at least 3 of us.

Brit got the bracelet from Catherine around 3 o'clock and we were off!

Cute little newlyweds :)

Jes handing off to Hunter for his first leg - the hardest leg of the course and the only one manned by EMTs. 

But, he survived it! He came in strong a couple minutes ahead of time. 

One of our lovely volunteers as well as our van captain from team one. Both of these lovely ladies have said they will run the next Ragnar we do - even if it is on the East Coast. 

In the midst of crazy sun and no sleep, pictures stopped for a while. haha. This is me checking off my final leg of the race. Hooray! Notice the little check marks associated with my name for baby? Cute, yes?

And Hunter making his final check mark....

We did it! Our final time was 32 hours 45 minutes. It was such an incredible experience and I'm just not sure how to describe it. It is fun and crazy and will make you more tired than you have ever been in your life, but once you are caught up on sleep and the soreness wears off the itch to do it all over again starts right up. 

All of Van 2. Some of our favorite people. 

More finish line festivities...

One of my favorite purchases of the day...isn't it soooo cute? 

Here are some couple shots from our van...

Brit and Andre, little cuties. They will definitely be doing another Ragnar with us :) Despite not wanting to, they loved every minute and felt the itch to do another one the very next day. 

Jes and Rendy post crazy, straight uphill legs. If you get a named leg you know it's going to suck. Both of them had about 4 mile long legs that were pretty straight uphill with very little to no relief. Of course they both rocked it.

And of course, Hunter and me. 

We decided that since the only purchases we have made for our baby up to this point have been running related that means we are going to have to run again. Oye. haha. It'll probably be a solid 8 months or so before I set out on anything too serious though. 

We are officially Ragnarians - again!

EPIC Update

Well, I seem to have been MIA from the blogging world for about 3 months so how about an epic update, complete with pictures?

Let's start with Kenobi. This dog couldn't be more different from Ameya. The more we get to know his little personality, the more apparent it becomes. The best way to describe it: Ameya is a cat's dog whereas Kenobi is a dog's dog...all the way. He is all dog - no questions about that!

This was my birthday dinner, that actually happened about a week before my birthday (thank you work schedules, haha). Who doesn't love some good sushi? Little did I know (well, I had a pretty good idea that it might be) that this would be my last sushi for the next 9 months...more on that later.

This dog is just so hard not to love. He does something ridiculous (like chew up yet another computer charger...making for a total of 3!!) then looks at you with those big puppy eyes and you just fall in love all over again. His little eyebrows go a long way in getting him out of trouble. He's still sooooo tiny in this picture! P.S. Brit and Andre LOVE him and seem to have a way with him.

This shot comes to you from Hunter's birthday dinner at Z'Tejas. We started getting our fill of Utah places to eat starting early since our time here is running short. This one is high up on our list of favorites.

My mom loves our dogs perhaps more than anyone else (besides us, of course). And they reciprocate the love. 

We've had good friends in town, good friends get married, and other friends move away.

Kenobi, our water dog, seems to think his toys love the water as much as he does. This is a common site at our house. However, I think it's more of a way for him to keep the toy he wants to play with away from Ameya while he is getting a drink. She won't get it out of the water. And, once she does, she has to groom it like it's her little kitten. haha. 

See that face?? Please tell me how you can be mad at it for more than 10 seconds.

I mean really.

Ameya still has to assert her dominance every chance she gets. There is no question who is alpha dog in this house. She seems to be protecting my food in this picture (Cafe Rio - more Utah specific goodness).

While Ameya is definitely my dog, Kenobi seems to be more Hunter's dog. They love each other and seem to understand each other. Walks are always much better when Hunter is also in attendance.

However, we have taught this little guy to run with us with varying levels of success. He doesn't seem to be big enough just yet to keep up with Hunter, but does pretty well with me. It has been a far more successful venture than I anticipated the first time I set out with him.

He is just so dang cute. 

Aaaannnddd now, for perhaps our BIGGEST news of the last few months.....

Meet Baby Paddock! Due November 30, 2013. 

This is the ultrasound picture from when I was 10 weeks along. It even looks like a baby! It's amazing to me that something that small can be so well formed. We got to hear it's little heartbeat both that day and a couple days ago at my last appointment. 

This picture was a lot of effort, but totally worth it I think. haha.

And for a close up of the baby shoes...they were the most gender neutral ones I could find. We will know the gender in about 6 weeks!

Here is the story behind the shoes: 

I found out on March 23rd that I was pregnant. I wanted soooo badly to be able to make it to Hunter's birthday (March 27th) before telling him because I had such a great plan. He wanted running shoes for his birthday (which I had already acquired at this point) so I was going to take his shoes out of the box and replace them with these baby ones so that when he opened it, it would be a total surprise. Buuuuut, trying to keep a secret like that in was near impossible. I made it most of the day of the 23rd (I found out that morning), but caved and had Hunter unwrap an 'early birthday present' when he got home from work that night. He was still completely surprised and excited. They just came in their cute little Nike box instead of being in his much bigger Mizuno box. 

Here are some belly (or lack thereof...) pics.

6 weeks:

9 weeks:

And 12 weeks:

At 14 weeks now, I might have a tiny little bump, but mostly it looks like I'm just thicker than I used to be. Every once in a while after I eat or have had a lot of water it looks more noticeable. I'm trying not to rush that part because I'm sure I'll feel more than over my bump come Thanksgiving time. haha. I seem to be at the point of getting over some of the crappy first trimester symptoms....namely nausea. Oye. I don't handle being sick well and sick I was. I only threw up 3 times, but I was nauseous all day everyday. The last couple weeks have been significantly better on that front though. As far as tiredness goes, I seem to handle things well as long as I can get about 9 hours of sleep a night. I also feel better when I don't overdue it, which is a hard concept for me. I am a go go go type of person so slowing things down has taken some time to adjust to. Hunter has been great to help and step it up where I have been falling short. 

And I'll leave you with one last picture I took yesterday of our not so tiny anymore puppy.

Until next time!